


Learn to Fly

by red_jaebyrd



Series: The Forms We Take [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Robins, Animal Shifter Dick Grayson, Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Batman AU, Bruce Wayne helps Dick deal with grief, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne Bonding, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick grieves his parents death, Gen, Grieving Dick Grayson, POV Bruce Wayne, POV Dick Grayson, Young Dick Grayson, good dad Bruce Wayne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:48:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25874632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/red_jaebyrd/pseuds/red_jaebyrd
Summary: Dick wasn’t sure he liked it a Wayne Manor. He didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t home. It wasn’t the circus and Bruce wasn’t his dad. He missed his parents and to make matters worse, he kept having nightmares about falling and waking up in his Shifter form. Dick didn't even know what Bruce Wayne thought about Shifters. He was too afraid to find out.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne
Series: The Forms We Take [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1868716
Comments: 9
Kudos: 221





	Learn to Fly

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [batfam AU where all the kids except for Damian can shift into animals](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/666487) by acidulication. 



> This one was a bit longer than the first two, but I wanted to honor acidulication's notes and it was just so much fun writing Dick's story.  
> POV shift is minimal. First and third section are from Bruce's POV. The rest of the fic is Dick's POV.  
> This fic is based on the Shifter AU created by acidulication.

Bruce hadn’t expected to go to the circus tonight and come back home with a scared, sad, and confused little boy. But after overhearing Gordon say words like ‘social services’, ‘no room’ and ‘detention center’, he couldn’t just leave the boy to be displaced in a system that was questionably corrupt. The boy wouldn’t survive a night in a detention center.

He had been the first to go to the boy after the tragedy. Too many people had been focused with what was happening on the ground, than who was left at the top of the trapeze platform. Bruce had watched as the young acrobat stayed unmoving on the trapeze platform refusing to come down. Bruce had rushed to the rigging and climbed not caring who had been yelling at him to stay down. Once he had reached the top he could see the boy huddled in a ball hugging his knees with his head down rocking back and forth. The boy was obviously in shock having witnessed his parents’ death.

“I’ve got you. You’re safe, now Richard.” Bruce said, sitting down next to the boy and putting his arm around his shoulder. The boy didn’t respond to his touch or his words.

Bruce sat there with him for a moment, rubbing small circles on the boy’s back. The boy was trembling and sobbing. There was nothing to say to boy right now that would make him feel better without it sounding like a useless platitude. There were no words Bruce could think of to take the boy’s pain away from losing two of the most important people in his life. He took his coat off and draped it over the boy’s thin shoulders.

Soon the boy lifted his face up and looked at Bruce.

“Hey Chum, are you ready to go down?”

The boy stared at him with wide eyes and shook his head vigorously.

“We can stay up here a little longer, but we will eventually have to go down.”

“I-I c-can’t get down,” the boy hiccupped, closing his eyes tightly and shaking his head. “It’s t-too h-high.”

Bruce’s heart hurt hearing these words. This sweet boy, who had likely been raised on these very bars, doing tricks since he was a toddler, was now scared of the only thing that connected him to his parents.

“Okay, well I can help with that. Have you ever had a piggy-back ride?”

Richard nodded.

Bruce crotched down in front of the boy and patted his own shoulders.

“Climb on, and we’ll go down together, okay?”

“Okay.”

The boy wrapped his arms around Bruce’s neck resting them on Bruce’s shoulders. He then wrapped his legs around Bruce’s waist.

“Richard, I won’t be able to hold onto your legs, because I have to use my hands to climb down the rungs, so I’m going to ask you to keep your legs around my waist and hold on tight, okay? I got you.”

“Don’t drop me,” Richard pleaded, holding on to Bruce firmly.

“Never.”

Bruce could feel the boy trembling and hear him whimpering as he climbed down the rigging. He could feel fresh tears on his shoulder which meant the boy had his head down and likely his eyes closed.

“We’re almost at the bottom, Richard…just a few more steps. You’re doing great.”

“Y-you can call me Dickie.”

It was then that Bruce had remembered that the boy’s parents had called him Dickie and in that very short moment of meeting the young family, Bruce knew that the boy was his parents’ whole world. But now this boy’s world had turned upside down and had been forever changed.

“You can call me Bruce.”

Once they had reached the ground Bruce lowered himself so Dickie could step down. But Dickie was doing no such thing. He had clung to Bruce like a spider monkey and would not let go, so Bruce straightened up and placed his arms behind Dickie’s knees to better support him.

“Dickie, we’re on the ground now. Do you want to get down?”

Dickie shook his head. “Nuh uh.” 

Bruce had stayed with Dickie the whole time. The boy had sort of latched himself onto to Bruce. It was sweet, but the police had started to get annoyed. Bruce had finally been able to talk Gordon into allowing him to stay with Dickie while being questioned, but only if Gordon conducted the interview. Bruce had stayed with Dickie as he sat on the edge of the open ambulance rig with his jacket over the boy’s shoulders and a wool blanket over his legs. The boy’s eyes had started to droop just as Gordon had ended the interview. Dickie had already been leaning heavily onto Bruce hooking his thin arm around Bruce’s arm in a vice like grip.

Somehow in the short time that he had met this boy, Bruce had already grown attached to him. He could not allow this boy to be taken into the system and get lost. Bruce had made his decision. He just now had to voice it out loud.

“Jim, I can take him.”

It was impulsive.

“Do you know anything about raising kids, Bruce?”

“No, but I know his pain, Jim. I’ve been there. I can help him. At least I had Alfred, he doesn’t have anyone.”

Ultimately, it was the right thing to do.

“Please, Jim,” Bruce continued. “I’ll call my lawyer in the morning, and go through the proper procedures and paperwork. Let me take him. He won’t last a single night in a detention center, and you know it.”

After allowing Dick to pack a bag and collect his belongings, Bruce led him to his car.

The young boy didn’t say a word the entire drive to Wayne Manor. Bruce chanced a glance at him through the rearview mirror and watched as Dick stared out the window watching the raindrops cascade down the glass.

* * *

Dick liked Mr. Wayne even if he had only just met him. If it hadn’t been for Mr. Wayne, Dick would likely still be stuck up on that high rigging. The thought of being stuck some place so high made him nauseous. He started taking deep breaths through his nose to keep him from being sick in the car.

Mr. Wayne was very nice for letting Dick stay with him, but truthfully, he didn’t want to go anywhere. He wanted to stay at the Circus with his people, but the police wouldn’t let him.

They arrived at the house and Bruce introduced him to his butler, Alfred. The older man was nice too and asked Dick if he wanted something to drink. Dick just shrugged his shoulders as he wasn’t sure he wanted anything.

Bruce showed Dick to his room and it was big, too big. The room was twice as large as his parents’ trailer.

“If you need anything, I’m right across the hall. Goodnight, Dickie.”

“Goodnight, Bruce.”

Once Bruce shut the door Dick got ready for bed. He situated the pillows on the bed so they formed a small cocoon in the center. This helped to make him feel safer and the bed not so big. Dick lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

Dick’s sleep was fitful. Every time he closed his eyes he could hear the gunshots. He could see his mom’s shocked face reaching for him as she fell. He could hear his dad scream her name as he dove to catch her. Dick could see them both fall and do nothing to stop it. He was so scared he couldn’t move.

“MOM, DAD! NO! NO!”

* * *

Bruce heard screaming coming from the other room. At first he was confused at the noise and then he remembered, little Dickie Grayson’s parents had been murdered in front of him. He brought the boy to the Manor, instead of him going to a detention center.

He threw the blankets off of him and raced toward the other bedroom where the boy was screaming. Once he reached the bedroom, the boy was sitting on the edge of the bed nearly hyperventilating.

“Dickie, it’s alright. I got you. You’re safe.” Bruce comforted, embracing Dick in a hug. “You’re not there. You’re here with me. You’re safe.”

“They fell! They fell! They could fly! Why didn’t they fly?” Dick gasped into Bruce’s shoulder.

The boy obviously had a nightmare. He was trembling like a leaf in Bruce’s arms. The last two sentences didn’t make much sense to Bruce. He assumed that Dick was referring to flying with being on the trapeze. Bruce continued to rub circles on the boy’s back.

“I’m so sorry, chum. I’m so sorry you had to see something like that happen to your parents.”

“Why didn’t they fly, Bruce?” Dick whispered.

“Someone hurt them so they couldn’t.”

This answer only made the boy cry harder in his arms. Bruce continued to hold Dick rubbing small circles on his back while telling Dick to let it out.

Once Dick stopped crying, Bruce broke the embrace to look at him. The boy had exhausted himself so much his eyes started to droop.

“Did you want to try to go back to sleep, or did you want some hot chocolate?”

Dick sighed. “I’m tired. But could you stay until I fall asleep?”

Bruce smiled. “Of course, kiddo.”

Bruce helped Dick resituate all the pillows back into a cocoon he had before going to bed. After Bruce tucked Dick into bed he sat on the armchair until Dick’s breathing evened out indicating sleep.

* * *

_Dick opened his eyes to find that he was surrounded by lion cubs. Something big and strong lifted him by the neck and deposited him between two long front paws. Dick looked up to find Tika the lioness licking his face. He looked down at his own black paws and mimicked her sweeping motions over his ears. He started purring as she continued to groom his face and his down his neck. Dick loved the attention she gave him. He thanked her by trying to paw her face. He nipped at him affectionately. Once she was done, he pounced on one of her cubs, Zion and started playing. He and Zion wrestled around in the pen trying to pin the other one down._

_“Dick.”_

_He turned his attention to Tika._

_“Dick, it’s time to wake up.”_

_He tilted his head confused. Tika couldn’t talk. Why did she sound like a man? Tika wasn’t a Shifter._

_“Dick, are you okay? May I come in?”_

Dick opened his eyes and his heart stopped as he took in his surroundings. Tika was gone and so was Zion. He had been dreaming.

“I just came to tell you that breakfast is ready, so come down when you feel like it.”

The voice, now he remembered. It belonged to Mr Wayne. He was staying at his house, but…

Dick rubbed his eyes and stared down at small furry black paws instead of hands. He sat up straighter examining his body and it was then that he discovered he had shifted into his panther form in his sleep. _Oh no. oh no. oh no._ He wasn’t sure what Bruce thought of Shifters. While shifting was acceptable in certain social circles, it wasn’t accepted in _all_ circles.

Dick tried really hard to shift back to human, but his shoddy nerves wouldn’t allow him to focus and change back.

If Bruce Wayne had chosen that moment to walk into Dick’s bedroom he would likely have a heart attack at seeing a panther cub in his house.

 _Breathe, Dickie. Just breathe._ He could hear his mom’s voice in his head. It had been something she had always said to him to help chase the fear away, and right now he was terrified. Dick started to cry as the events of that night started to replay itself in his mind’s eye. He could see his mom and dad falling all over again. _No, no, no._ This only made trying to shift back into a boy that much harder.

Dick closed his eyes willing his brain to focus on the here and now. He was staying at Bruce Wayne’s house. Bruce had been the one who stayed with him and helped him get down from the rigging. Bruce had comforted him last night when he had a nightmare. He said that Dick was safe here. The measured breathing helped to calm him enough that he could shift back to a boy.

He wasn’t sure he liked it a Wayne Manor. Dick didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t home. It wasn’t the circus and Bruce wasn’t his dad. Not that he was trying to be, Bruce pretty much stayed out of his way, except when he kept trying to get Dick to eat.

The more he thought about his parents, the more Dick’s anger started to outweigh his sadness. He was even more confused as to why they didn’t just shift.

His parents could literally fly, so why hadn’t they shifted? Dick had watched them all the time shift from Mom and Dad on the platform to a pretty Robin and Bluebird. Always twittering and chirping in the air flying around in a kind of dance that only they knew the choreography. Many times Dick had watched them from the platform fascinated and little jealous that his parents could actually fly. He’d watch them and be amused as they would mimic their trapeze routine in their bird forms. His mom would do a dive and his father would fly after her spreading his wings to “catch” her.

This was part of the reason why being acrobats came so easy to his parents; at least that is what they had told Dick. The fear of heights and falling had never occurred to them, because they were birds. But not having a bird shifting son, made it so they had to teach his human side not to fear heights or falling.

Why hadn’t she shifted so she could fly? Is that why his dad had jumped after her? Was he trying to shift so he could fly to the bottom first and hopefully shift back into a human to catch her?

The unanswered questions swirling in his head did nothing but make him more confused and upset.

Dick continued to have nightmares, and the constant fear of shifting in his sleep made it impossible for him to sleep peacefully through the night; so he moved his pillows and blankets into the closet making himself a nest. He made sure he closed the closet door each night before falling asleep.

After a week of the having the same nightmare, tonight the scene changed. Now Dick was the one falling with his parents. He woke up shaking and crying. Unwilling to go back to bed, Dick gathered his blankets around him like a cape and walked out of his room. He tiptoed passed Bruce’s bedroom and down to the media room. Perhaps he could find a movie or something to help him take his mind off of his nightmare.

Dick knew he wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep, so he made himself comfortable on the couch. He took the remote and began to scroll through the movies until he finally settled on Monsters Inc.

“Hey, chum. Can’t sleep?”

Dick jumped at the voice. “S-sorry Bruce. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay, I couldn’t sleep either. What are you watching?”

“Monsters Inc.”

“May I join you?”

“Sure.”

Dick thought it was weird that Bruce actually wanted to be in the same room with him considering how awful Dick had been treating him and Alfred.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you and Alfred today.” Dick apologized, burying himself further into his blanket. “I know you were only trying to help.”

It was still a bit embarrassing to talk about. Earlier that afternoon Dick had climbed the big oak tree in the back garden. He knew he should have stopped after reaching a certain high branch, but he kept going. He had loved climbing, being up high, and flying. He was determined to love those things again. Climbing had been a daily activity at the circus. He had been climbing and flying since he could walk. But ever since that night, he had been afraid of heights and falling.

Dick hated having his two favorite activities taken away from him like his parents. It wasn’t fair.

Bruce had only wanted to help. He ended up doing the exact same thing he did that night at the circus. Dick yelled at him that he hadn’t needed Bruce’s help, but he did, because Dick froze when it came to trying to get back down.

Bruce smiled. “It’s okay, kiddo. I yelled a lot at Alfred when I was your age…when…after my parents were killed. Believe me when I tell you that I understand.”

Dick knew that Bruce understood his sadness at how much he missed his parents. He knew that Bruce had watched his own parents get shot right in front of him. It was something they had talked about since Dick had arrived at the Manor.

“Still, it was wrong for me to yell.” Dick said, folding his legs up and hugging his knees. “I don’t like yelling. Mom wouldn’t be too happy with my behavior.”

“It’s okay to be angry, Dick. Your parents were taken away from you in the most horrible way possible. I understand how that can make you angry and sad. We just have to work together at not staying that way all the time. I know you miss them.

“I do. Do you still miss your parents?”

“Every single day.”

Dick nodded and then shook his head. “I don’t want to be sad and angry all the time. Will the hurt ever go away?”

“Not completely.” Bruce answered, turning to face Dick. “But I will say that it lessens over time. One thing I’ve learned is that grief doesn’t have a timeline. It comes and goes like the waves on a shore. There will be days when the hurt feels bigger than you and there will be other days you will feel bigger than the pain. Give it time, and remember you are not alone. You can always come to me or Alfred if you need to talk. We are here to help you, okay?”

“Okay,”

They watched the rest of the movie together in silence. Dick started to get drowsy and leaned more into Bruce’s shoulder. He continued to fight sleep until Bruce put his arm around him drawing him closer.

“Go to sleep, Dick. I’m not going anywhere.”

He closed his eyes and allowed sleep to come. For the first time in over a week, it was dreamless that night.

Dick woke up the next morning still nestled in his blankets on the couch. He was warm and happy. He could feel the sun shining on his face through the curtains. Someone was lightly petting his head. It felt nice. He didn’t want to wake up, but he knew it was time to start the day. He stretched and yawned and the sound that came out was a cross between a meow and roar.

 _Oh no. Oh no. Oh no._ He did it again. He had shifted in his sleep and this time right next to Bruce. He quickly burrowed himself deeper in the blankets, but it was too late. Bruce had already seen him in his panther form.

“Hey, Dickie, come out, please. Don’t be scared. I told you when you first came here that you were safe here and I meant it.

Dick slowly emerged from his blanket nest and allowed Bruce to pick him up. He sat Dick on his lap and continued to lightly pet his head.

“Is this why you’ve been sleeping in the closet, because you were afraid I’d find out you were a Shifter?”

Dick gently headbutted Bruce’s chest in response. He pawed Bruce's hand to get him to keep petting him. 

“Oh Dickie, I’m so sorry you felt you had to hide this part of you from us. We would not have turned you away.”

* * *

Months passed and Dick settled more and more at Wayne Manor. He no longer felt scared to shift in his sleep and with Bruce’s support the frequency of his nightmares greatly reduced. Bruce had officially adopted him and gradually helped Dick regain his confidence with heights and climbing by building him a giant cat tree in the back garden and setting up a trapeze rig in the home gym. Dick was excited to learn to fly again.

Dick would always miss his parents, but he was thankful for his new family.

**Author's Note:**

> As always thank you for reading and tell me what you think.


End file.
